About FilmWeek

Airs Friday 11 a.m. - noon

FilmWeek on AirTalk, hosted by Larry Mantle, is a one-hour weekly segment devoted to films. It offers reviews of the week's new movies, interviews with filmmakers, and discussions on various aspects of the industry.

The 1974 classic film “Chinatown” tops some of the most prestigious “best film” lists and is studied for everything from its score to its cinematography. But at the time it was released, it won only one Oscar: for best screenplay.

Last Saturday, after the FilmWeek screening of the film at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, we sat down with Robert Towne, the screenwriter of “Chinatown,” as well as KPCC film critic Claudia Puig, to discuss the process of writing the script, the casting and and where the film got its title.